The oral trial for the sexual abuse case against two minors in a shelter, which occurred in 2020, has been rescheduled for next April 7th at 9:00 a.m. due to one of the parties presenting a certificate of incapacity. In this judicial process, only two people are accused of what happened inside the protection center. One of them is a social worker. The lawyer for the accused social worker, Eliécer Plicett, questioned the investigation and stated that the director of SENNIAF at that time, Ana M. Fábrega G., was never called to testify, nor was the pastor in charge of the place where the abuses presumably occurred. According to the defense, there are key pieces of evidence that were not taken into account during the process. This case is linked to the national scandal of abuse in shelters linked to SENNIAF, which broke publicly in 2021 when an investigation revealed mistreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse of minors in several protection centers in the country. Now the case is moving forward in the courts, while the families and defenders of the minors hope that what really happened in that shelter will be clarified and who must answer to justice. The 2021 complaints led to protests in the country, strong criticism against the authorities, and the resignation of then Attorney General Eduardo Ulloa, while the government of President Laurentino Cortizo announced investigations and possible sanctions against those responsible, which were dropped.
